Wiping mechanism for labeling machines



H. A. E. SJOBERG I WIPING MECHANISM FOR LABELING MACHINES Dec. 1, 1942.

Filed 0st. 21, 1940 z Jzzazvzfw 71 119.6? fijofi y chi la Patented Dec. 1, 1942 WIPIN G MECHANISM FOR LABELING MACHINES Henry A. E. Sjoberg, North Grafton, Mass., as-

signor to Economic Machinery Company,

Worcester, Mass, a. corporation of Massachusetts Application October 21, .1940, Serial No. 362,049

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to label wipers or pressers for labeling machines and particularly to a wiper for attaching a label securely to a plurality of surfaces of a multi-sidecl bottle or other article.

In bottle labeling machines, the label is-transferred from a stack of labels to the bottle, being carried past a gumming device before it is placed on the bottle. ered to the bottle, wipers or pressers engage and press the entire label securely into engagement with the surface of the bottle to make sure that it is securely attached over its entire area. Where the label is applied only to a substantially fiat surface of the bottle, a wiper having a shape corresponding approximately to the contour of the label, is suflicient to provide a secure attachment of the label.

There are instances, however, where the label must be applied to several sides of a multi-sided bottle, or must be wrapped around a large part of a bottle having a curved outer surface, in which event the conventional single piece Wiper is not satisfactory, as will be readily apparent. One solution involves a plurality of relatively movable label wipers caused to move relative to each other, either by a cam rotated from the same control shaft that moves the label wiper relative to the bottle, or through an inter-connection between the several wiper elements to cause a predetermined movement of one wiper element as a result of a movement of another element with respect to the supporting structure. In each of these arrangements the mechanism for causing the relative movement between the wiper elements is complex and therefore expensive to manufacture.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a label wiper mechanism adapted for wiping or pressing a label around a substantial portion of a bottle or other article, in which the several wiper elements are moved relative to each other in response to the relative movement between the wiper assembly and the bottle.

A large number of labeling machines are adapted for labeling a plurality of types and sizes of bottles merely by making several minor adjustments, such as changing the shape and position of the bottle support and adjusting the label carrier to suit the particular size and shape of label. A further feature of the present inven tion resides in a wiper attachment especially adapted for this type of machine, which is readily attached to or removed from the machine, and requires no extensive adjustment.

After the label has been deliv- Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear from the following detailed description taken in' connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- I Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of labeling machine parts to which the wiping mechanism of my invention is applicable.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation showing the wiper mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig.2, with the wiper mechanism in another position. i

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view, showing a label as applied by my invention to a multi-sided bottle or other article.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures. I

With reference to the drawing, the improvement is shown in connection with a labeler .of the semi-automatic type, one example of which is disclosed by Holm Patent No. 2,257,055, dated September 23, 1941. The bottle I, or other ar ticle to be labeled, is manually placed on a vertically reciprocable support 2 which is also vertically adjustable as by means of 'a slot 3 and locking bolt 4. The support is reciprocated by any suitable means, not shown.

The labels are delivered by a suitable means to a label carrier 5 reciprocable horizontally to carry the labels over a gumming roll 6 'and then to a position directly above the bottle 1 to deposit the label thereon. In the arrangement shown, the label is held by suction against the underside of the label carrier, and suitable valve mechanisms relieve the suction when the carrier is directly over the bottle on the support 2 so that the label isreIeased fromthe carrier at this point. p,

After the label is deposited on the bottle, the carrier moves rearwardly to allow a vertically reciprocable presser or wiper l to move downwardly and press the label securely against the bot tle. The presser I is carried by a vertically movable bar 8 guided in a bracket 9, and the bar 8 is reciprocated vertically by any suitable mechanism, preferably from the main cam shaft which also provides for the vertical reciprocation of the bottle support 2.

The above mechanism is all fully described in the aforesaid Holm patent, and forms of itself no part of the present invention. The latter in-. volves the particular construction and arrangement of the wiper l in connection with the bottle support 2, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the purpose of the wiper arrangement being to assure a positive attachment of the label over its entire surface, even though the label engages several sides of a bottle as shown in Fig. 4, where the label extends around three adjoining sides of the four-sided bottle I.

With reference now to Figs. 2 and 3, the bottle support 2 has a suitable bottle-engaging bracket 2a securely mounted thereon, so that each successively presented bottle is accurately located and held on the support while the labeling is effected, and this bracket, as will be apparent, leaves exposed the portions of the bottle to which the label is to be applied. In the particular arrangement shown, thebottleis substantial.- ly rectangular in cross-section and thelabel is. applied to three of the four sides thereof, as indicated for example in Fig. 4, from which it will appear that the label L engages with the. bottle on three sides thereof in such a manner that a single presser or wiper element could not inv itself press the label against the bottle over the entire surface of the label.

The presser. or wiper 'l' of the invention comprises a bracket l connected to the bar 8, and on the underside of the bracket is mounted a wiper elementv I.I, substantially the width of one side of the bottle, and preferably of somewhat re-' silient material. The element II is carried by a clip l2 having an integral pin l3 positioned in a vertical bore I in the bracket ID. A coil spring l'5' surrounding the pin urges the wiper element downwardly to engage the bottle, and a limiting headed screw IS in the upper end of the pin determines the extent of the downward movement of this wiper element.

On opposite sides of the bracket II) are pivotally mounted, as on parallel pins I1 and I8, downwardly extending arms [9 and 20. Clips 2| and,- 22 secured. to the lower ends of the arms l9 and support wipers 23 and 24, preferably consisting of resilient pads, the faces of which are substantially the same width as the sides of the bottle. The faces of these wipers are adapted to engage with the overhanging end portions of a deposited label as the wiper element ll engages the middle portion of the label that rests on the upper side of the bottle. Suitable coil springs 25 and 26 positioned within a part of the bracket I'll urge the arms l9 and 20 away from each other and act to withdraw the wipers 23 and 24 from engagement with the labeled bottle, as will hereinafter appear. The outward rocking movement of the arms l9 and 20 is limited. by projecting lugs 21 and 28 formed on the arms and engageable with portions of the bracket 10.

To swing the arms 19 and 2!] inwardly toward the opposite sides of the bottle, the bottle support 2 has mounted thereon opposed lugs 29 and 30' having downwardly inclined surfaces 29a and- 30a acting as cams engageable with the ends of the arms l9 and 20. Thus, as the wiper assembly moves vertically toward the bottle support, the wiper ll first engages the label on the side of the. bottle which is uppermost, and upon continued movement of the wiper assembly, the wipers 23 and 24 are moved inwardly toward each other and ultimately into substantial parallelism with opposite sides of the bottle. As the wiper assembly moves downwardly, it will be apparent that the outer end portions of the label are engaged by wipers 23 and 24 and folded downwardly against the opposite sides of the bottle.

In operation a bottle is placed on the bottle support and the label carrier having a gummed label on its underside then advances into a position directly above the bottle on the support. The support then moves upwardly to cause the bottle to engage with the label, at which time the label is automatically released from its carrier, Af-ter withdrawal of the carrier from this position, the wiper assembly then moves downwardly to bring the wiper II against the middle of the label on the uppermost side of the bottle, thereby securely holding this portion of the label against the bottle. As the wiper assembly continues its downward movement, the wiper l I being resiliently mounted, the wipers 23 and 24 move inwardly under the action of the opposed lugs 29 andv 30 on the bottle support, and press the end portions of the label securely against oppositesides of the bottle, thereby securing the entire label tightly to the bottle. As the wiper assembly is then withdrawn vertically, the wipers 23 and 24 are first moved laterally away from the labeled bottle, so that there is no tendency to disturb the position of the label.

Where the labeling machine is used for various types and sizes of bottles or other articles, it is essential that the bottle supports and wiper assembly may be readily replaced by other supports and assemblies to accommodate other articles. As shown, the bottle support 2 may be readily removed by disengaging the stud 3, and the wiper assembly is readily removed from its supporting bar in a similar manner.

Although the structure shown operates to apply a label to a bottle rectangular in cross section, it will be understood that the wiper assembly may also be usedv with multi-sided bottles other than rectangular bottles, and may be used on irregular-shaped bottles by adjusting the contour. of the faces of the several wipers ll, 23 and 24;

I claim:

1. In a labeling machine, the combination with an article support and a Wiper support, at least one of said supports being mounted for movement toward and away from the other, of a bracket removably mounted on the article support, said bracket having means for positioning an article thereon, opposed. cams on. said bracket adjacent to said positioning means, a wiper assembly removably mounted on the wiper support, said assembly comprising opposed pivotally mounted arms, a pad on each arm in a position for engagement with an article on the bracket, the ends of said arms remote from the pivotal support thereof being engageable with the cams on the bracket during a relative movement of the supports toward each other, said cams being positioned to cause said arms to rock toward each other, thereby moving the pads thereon against the sides of the article on the bracket.

2. In a labeling machine, the combination with an article support and a wiper support, at least one of said supports being mounted for movement toward and away from the other, of a bracket removably mounted on the article support, said bracket having means for positioning an article thereon, opposed cams on said bracket adjacent to said positioning means, a wiper assembly removably mounted on the wiper support, said assembly comprising opposed pivotally mounted arms, a pad on each arm in a position for engagement with an article on the bracket, the ends of said arms remote from the pivotal support thereof being engageable with the cams on the bracket during a relative movement of the supports toward each other, said cams being positioned to cause said arms to rock toward each other, thereby moving the pads thereon against the sides of the article on the bracket,

- and resilient means acting on said arms for urgsition for engagement with an article on the bracket, the ends of said arms remote from the pivotal support thereof being engageable with the cams on the bracket during a relative movement of the supports toward each other, said cams being positioned to cause said arms to rock toward each other, thereby moving the pads thereon against the sidesof the article on the bracket, and resilient means acting on said arms for urging the latter in a direction away from each other, said wiper assembly also having a central pad resiliently mounted thereon and in a position for engagement with the face of the article on the bracket during the relative movement of the supports toward each other.

HENRY A. E. SJOBERG. 

